Zane stood silently in front of the mirror. The room was quiet, but not peaceful. A strange weight pressed on his chest, something he couldn't explain—like being watched by something ancient and buried.
He stared at his reflection, studying his face. The bruises from the last fight had faded, but the feeling of helplessness hadn't. Not after what that silver-robed bastard did. Not after nearly losing everyone. Not after unleashing that power.
Then... the reflection blinked.
Zane's breath caught. He stepped closer, brows drawing together.
The reflection leaned forward with him but didn't match his expression.
"Hmmmm... oh, how the great have fallen."
Zane's eyes narrowed. "What...?"
The mirror rippled like water, shadows crawling across the glass. His own reflection shimmered, distorting—and then his world collapsed.
The air was sucked from his lungs as darkness swallowed him whole. The walls, the floor, the ceiling—everything crumbled into mist.
He landed hard on a stone floor. But the stone wasn't real—it pulsed with Void energy, echoing with whispers that came from all directions and none.
He rose slowly, finding himself in a vast arena of pure shadow. Endless. Shifting. Cold.
And across from him stood... himself.
This version of him was taller, sharper—his posture carried ancient pride. One of his eyes burned an unholy red, glowing like a dying star. His aura didn't feel like mana or Void or anything familiar.
It felt like authority.
Zane took a step forward, fists clenched. "Who are you?"
The reflection smiled, lips curling with disdain. His voice was deep, resonant, and cruelly amused.
"I am you. The real you. The one they sealed away. The one who made nations rise and fall... who made kings tremble... the one even gods feared."
Zane's heart pounded. "Liar."
The reflection laughed, slow and chilling.
"Oh, you're adorable. Still clinging to that pathetic little morality. That weakness." He spat the word. "You think saving people makes you noble? That kindness makes you strong?"
He stepped forward, and with every word, the Void space itself shivered.
"You forgot what you are. What we were. Do you know how many fell to our blade? How many begged us for mercy before we reduced them to ash and silence?"
Zane shook his head. "That's not who I am."
The red-eyed reflection paused, then leaned closer.
"No. But that's who you're becoming. The moment you touched the crown... the blade... the moment your enemies ran from your name—tell me it didn't feel right."
That moment... when the world turned red, and the sun went black. When even the anomalies had feared him. When power surged through every inch of his body and the Void itself had obeyed.
It had felt like something waking up.
The reflection saw his silence and smiled.
"You see? Deep down... you remember. This world tried to tame you. But you were never meant to be tamed."
The darkness pulsed around him.
"So come. Fight me. Or fade. Because the path ahead is war, and only one of us is strong enough to walk it."